| You know the US Marine slogan? Yeah, you know it. I have the utmost respect for Marines, but I really think that particular slogan should belong to the remaining xanga-ers. Let's be honest, xanga-ers are a lot more "few" than The Marines. My husband of almost 1 month is sleeping in the bed next to me, but my mind is restless, and where better to empty out one's rattling thoughts? Married life is wonderful, for anyone who may be wondering. It's like getting to hang out with your best friend all the time. Sometimes, even though Thomas and I need to go to bed, we stay up late hanging out and talking. We can talk for hours. Besides being like a continuous party, married life has many other perks that are too wonderful to be typed about, and so I'll leave those details to the imagination. Being married also means growing up completely, in case you didn't know. Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Car Insurance, Renters Insurance, Car Payments, Rent, Utilities, Groceries, Tuition, Books, Personal Taxes, Gasoline, Cell Phone, etc. It's a great feeling to be completely independent. It's a lot of responsibility of course, but it is a great feeling. Life is expensive, but we happen to be rich. Did I make you read that last line twice? Okay, maybe not, but it is true. Thomas and I are so rich. We have so many blessings. It's the major thing God has been teaching me over the summer. You can't out give God. The more you give and serve, the more God gives back. This is true in every area, and we've been specifically learning it in the area of finances. We are both full time students with part time jobs that have to pay for, well, life. Life is expensive. However, the loser we hold onto our money, the more our Father provides. Another words, as long as we aren't clinging to our money and being stingy, God takes what little we have and handles it better than we ever could. I'll never be able to explain everything that this summer has taught me, but I don't need an explanation farther than knowing that God is good. Speaking of money, we talked in our bible study today about how Americans spend their money. We talked about world hunger. We talked about how 20 billion dollars is what it would take to fix the world's homeless and hunger problems. Then we talked about how Americans spend 20 billion per year...on ice cream. Could you do without ice cream for a year to fix some of the world's largest and saddest problems? Me too. Did you known only 8% of the world owns a car? Did you know America has 6% of the world's population, but uses 40% of the world's resources? Yes, we as Americans are filthy rich. (www.nooma.com) A man in our bible study had gone to Zambia on a missions trip. He told us, "Everything you see on the commercials is real. Those people are dirt poor, but they are rich in spirit. Those people, they have nothing, but they will gladly give you the loaf of bread that is supposed to last their entire family three weeks. They know what life is about. We Americans seem to be missing it." I remembered his statement so I could quote it directly. We Americans seem to be missing it. Buy more, finance this, consume that. As for me, I want to be rich in spirit. I don't want to be worried about having the newest cell phone, the hottest jeans, the most fashionable hairstyle, etc. There is nothing wrong with looking nice and having material blessings, but they can't be our focus. This summer has taken my focus off of myself. Thank God. I know this has been a long post, and I suppose that's what happens when you don't xanga for nearly three months. Thank you for sticking with me. So what about you other xanga-ers; the few, the proud? What has God been teaching you this summer? How is life? ~Mrs. Batson~ |
